It can certainly be a daunting prospect, but pursuing a career as a full time artist is certainly rewarding and worth the efforts. If you are considering it, read on as Art Career Building outlines some things to keep in mind.

First of all, realize that you have to be strict with yourself because it IS your full time job. Organize where you will be making your work – whether from home, your garage or a studio - and make a schedule. Putting in the hours is key and knowing how to distribute your time will ensure that you don’t get frustrated or waste any time.

Second, realize you will have to keep an eye on your finances. You should create a spread sheet to work out your budget and to keep track of where your money is going. Knowing how much you spend on art supplies is also necessary when deciding on pricing your artwork, as you want to cover your costs. Treat yourself and your art like a business from day one and don’t be lazy with recording all money coming in and out.

Make yourself a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account. Don’t worry about numbers – these things take time and if you use these sites religiously, the following will grow naturally. Also, keep in mind that it’s not about how many likes you have, but how engaged your audience is. Make a signature in your email linking to your social media sites so everyone can find you easily. Tell all your friends and family to spread the word about your new business.

Select one or two online sites to sell your art on – depending on what you create, choose carefully where you decide to put your art. Take the time to look at the various options before uploading your artwork. Make sure to read the fine print, so you can be sure of how much percentage the site takes on commission and you understand all their terms and conditions.

As we mentioned earlier, make a schedule and stick to it. Sit down and decide on how many studio hours you will put in and how many for social media. Whilst you do need to update your pages and check your online shops, don’t overdo it either – no one wants to see a post every hour!

These are some of our initial thoughts to get you started. We will write more posts for Art Pro Motivate in the future and continue to update our blog daily to give you more tips and advice on social media and marketing.